A J Smith

San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of drunk driving. Jackson failed sobriety tests shortly after 2 a.m. on State Route 52 in San Diego, a California Highway Patrol officer said. Jackson, whose blood-alcohol level was unknown, was on probation for a previous DUI arrest. The player was taken to the San Diego County Jail and released. Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith said he was aware of Jackson's "off-the-field issue."

There could be some thawing on the Michael Vick front. Vick's agent said in a radio interview Tuesday that "a lot of teams" are interested in signing the onetime Atlanta Falcons star who has been out of football for two years, serving prison time for running a West Virginia dogfighting ring. Agent Joel Segal told ESPN 980 radio in Washington, D.C., that he's optimistic Vick will be back in football soon, saying it's "not a matter of if, but when." Tony Dungy, the widely respected former coach and now mentor to the disgraced quarterback, has hinted broadly that an NFL team could sign Vick soon.

Defense was the order of the day during the San Diego Chargers' first practice Friday at the Home Depot Center in Carson in front of an estimated 300. The Chargers were sporting a new 3-4 alignment, but the most impressive thing was that they worked without defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who attended the funeral of Mark Hatley, the Green Bay Packers' vice president of football operations who died earlier this week.

Writers from around the Tribune Co. discuss which NFL coaches are on the hot seat near the midway point of the season. Feel free to join the conversation with a comment of your own. Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times Kansas City plays at San Diego on Thursday night, and the stakes are incredibly high for both coaches. Although I'd be somewhat surprised if Romeo Crennel is canned by the Chiefs in the middle of his first full season, Kansas City's ineffectiveness has reached historic proportions.

LT is leaving town. LaDainian Tomlinson, the All-Pro running back so famous he's known simply by his initials, was released by San Diego on Monday after nine seasons with the Chargers. He was due a bonus of $2 million in March, and was coming off career lows of 730 yards in 223 carries and a 3.3-yard average. "This is the part of the business that I hate. . . ," said Chargers President Dean Spanos, who met Monday with Tomlinson and informed him of the decision. "Change involving great players is never easy.

Maybe it's a good thing that not many people are talking about the San Diego Chargers' return to Home Depot Center for a second training camp, which begins today at 3:30 p.m. That's because if more people did, the Chargers' dismal 4-12 record from last season and their poor track record of four winning seasons in 20 years under Spanos family ownership would certainly be topics of conversation.

Whew! He might not admit it, but you know that's what San Diego Chargers' General Manager A.J Smith uttered Sunday as the clock ticked down on his team's tough playoff win. Whew! Finally! Or maybe something a bit less genteel. This game was a referendum on Smith, one of the NFL's best general managers -- and perhaps its gutsiest.

Antonio Gates signed a $380,000, one-year contract Sunday night to end his holdout with the San Diego Chargers. The record-setting tight end still appears headed for a three-game suspension, including the opener against Dallas, for missing a team-imposed deadline to report to camp. In a new twist to the Chargers' most pressing saga, General Manager A.J.

Throughout the NFL today, former players will roam their old stadium homes, shaking hands, hearing cheers, spreading history. In Southern California, former Los Angeles Rams guard Dennis Harrah won't even turn on the television. "I don't love Sundays," he said. "It's like I never even played." Throughout the NFL today, former players will provide living links to current ones, on sidelines, in broadcast booths, a weekly melding of past and present.

In a move that would have been unimaginable a few months ago, the Indianapolis Colts fired Bill and Chris Polian, the father-and-son tandem atop one of the NFL's most successful franchises of the past decade. Colts owner Jim Irsay, who has yet to decide whether to keep Coach Jim Caldwell, said it's time for a fresh start in the wake of a 2-14 season. He made the most dramatic move on a day that included the firing of St. Louis Coach Steve Spagnuolo and General Manager Billy Devaney, and Tampa Bay Coach Raheem Morris.